Man sues over being left out of sister’s death, funeral

By Michael D. Abernethy / Times-News

Published: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 05:36 PM.

Hospice records included with the suit show that on March 1, Fogleman asked Waters to notify Mitchell of her placement at the Hospice Home. Fogleman died March 7. Mitchell says Waters never attempted to contact him.

“Betty (Waters) relates that (patient) has no family except for a brother from whom she has been estranged for many years. (Patient) has agreed for Betty to notify her brother,” Ginny Ward, a Hospice hospital liaison, wrote in a note dated March 1.

In a last will and testament filed in 2006, Fogleman stated she wanted none of her estate to go to Mitchell or Mitchell’s family.

Mitchell says he and his sister weren’t estranged, and that they’d grown closer during her later years. They spoke several times a month after he helped her clear debts in 2010 following a Christmas Eve wreck.

Mitchell last spoke to Fogleman in mid-February, when she complained of not feeling well and going to see her doctor at ARMC. Mitchell said he drove by Fogleman’s apartment, saw her car there and assumed she was feeling better.

Mitchell says he brought the suit because he doesn’t want anyone else to have to go through what he has.

“Betty Waters took away one thing from me that can never be given back: That’s being with my sister and being able to hold her hand when she died. That really hurts,” Mitchell said.

A Burlington man is suing his sister’s power of attorney, claiming relief for not being notified of his sister’s grave illness or death.

William Mitchell claims the power of attorney, Betty Waters, tried to block him from attending Elizabeth Fogleman's funeral and seeing her body. Fogleman was his sister. She died March 7.

Mitchell learned of her death March 8, when Fogleman’s ex-husband called asking if he knew anything about it.

When Mitchell eventually located Waters that day and inquired about Fogleman, Waters allegedly told him to “read it in the paper.” The obituary mentioned Fogleman’s deceased mother and a dog, but made no mention of any other relatives.

Waters allegedly refused to allow Mitchell to view Fogleman’s body until he threatened a court order.

“When I said goodbye to my sister and kissed her, her body was cold and hard,” Mitchell wrote in the complaint. “I hope God forgives Betty Waters.”

Mitchell originally named Rich and Thompson Funeral Service as a defendant in the suit but an amended complaint filed March 28 names only Waters as a defendant. He is representing himself.

“Defendant’s conduct was intended to cause severe emotional distress … did in fact cause severe emotional distress ... (and) plaintiff has suffered emotional distress that no reasonable person could be expected to endure,” Mitchell stated in the amended complaint.

Answering the complaint through her attorney, Geoffrey K. Oertel, Waters denies Mitchell’s claims. In a response filed April 8, Oertel moved the court to dismiss Mitchell’s suit for failure to state a legal claim for relief.

The defense is also asking that the court award Waters attorney fees and other relief in the wake of Mitchell’s suit.

Oertel and Waters were unable to be reached for comment Thursday.

Fogleman and Mitchell had a falling out before their mother died, involving a 1986 suit brought by their step-siblings against their mother.

Fogleman appointed Waters as her healthcare power of attorney in 2004, documents with the Alamance County Register of Deeds show.

Fogleman, 80, was admitted to Alamance Regional Medical Center on Feb. 28, where her health rapidly declined due to cancer and other health issues, court documents showed. She was admitted to Hospice of Alamance-Caswell on March 1.

Hospice records included with the suit show that on March 1, Fogleman asked Waters to notify Mitchell of her placement at the Hospice Home. Fogleman died March 7. Mitchell says Waters never attempted to contact him.

“Betty (Waters) relates that (patient) has no family except for a brother from whom she has been estranged for many years. (Patient) has agreed for Betty to notify her brother,” Ginny Ward, a Hospice hospital liaison, wrote in a note dated March 1.

In a last will and testament filed in 2006, Fogleman stated she wanted none of her estate to go to Mitchell or Mitchell’s family.

Mitchell says he and his sister weren’t estranged, and that they’d grown closer during her later years. They spoke several times a month after he helped her clear debts in 2010 following a Christmas Eve wreck.

Mitchell last spoke to Fogleman in mid-February, when she complained of not feeling well and going to see her doctor at ARMC. Mitchell said he drove by Fogleman’s apartment, saw her car there and assumed she was feeling better.

Mitchell says he brought the suit because he doesn’t want anyone else to have to go through what he has.

“Betty Waters took away one thing from me that can never be given back: That’s being with my sister and being able to hold her hand when she died. That really hurts,” Mitchell said.

A hearing is scheduled in Alamance County Civil District Court May 14 at 9:30 a.m.